Naruto Drabble Collection
by angels.dandruff
Summary: A set of drabbles from the Naruto world. Mostly angst with a sprinkle of humor, they focus on individual characters or small groups.
1. Tsunade Hokage

Disclaimer: Naruto isn't mine. The characters aren't mine, the show isn't mine, the manga isn't mine. Sue me, and even my beloved computer won't be mine.

Warnings: Angst, possible spoilers for post-timeskip.

He looks more tired than he usually does. It's hard for most people to imagine Naruto ever getting tired in the first place, but the past two years have taken their toll for all of the knowledge he's gained. He's focused now, concentrated energy instead of thoughtless, pointless bursts of power and instability. He's done the impossible in bringing the demon fox under his control, but he has yet to conquer the lack of sleep.

He's been too on-edge for his body to rest, too busy and too excited, now that his goal—their goal—has come close to possible, closer to reality than childish dreaming. He still thinks that he's being sent to find Itachi so that he can find Sasuke; the truth boils down to this: he's the only one who has a chance in hell of defeating Akatsuki, and he's going to need Sasuke's help to do it. They are going to need each other's help to do it. Hopefully Sasuke's return will be a side-effect to this, but it certainly isn't the first priority no matter what Naruto thinks. He'll have to learn that before he can become Hokage. Konoha always comes first. It came first before Orochimaru, and it'll come before Sasuke too.

It's hard to accept this, and Naruto will definitely fight the decision. Tsunade hopes that when Naruto becomes Hokage—he _will_ become Hokage—he'll still be stubborn enough to fight this. She knows that it isn't a good quality for a leader to have, but sometimes helping a single person really will help the village in the long run. She's certain that Orochimaru wouldn't have been a threat to Konoha if she and Jiraiya had just said screw it to their Hokage and their teacher and just dragged his snake-ass back all those years ago. It's not like Sarutobi would have stopped them.

Tsunade sighs. Sometimes, being Hokage isn't all it's made up to be. She prays for Naruto to realize this before he gets lost in the duties and responsibilities and formalities. She prays for him to succeed, and bring Sasuke back. She prays for her friends, and her village. Tsunade never bothers to pray for herself.

The Hokage cannot pray for herself, for himself. They just have to stumble along, and hope one day that they'll make the right choice.


	2. Team 7 Thinking Ahead

Disclaimer: Kishimoto owns…Both literally and figuratively. I own nothing, except for maybe my delusions, and I'm not even sure about those.

Warnings: Angst, probably. Team 7-style brooding.

Naruto has always thought Sasuke was too pretty to be real, too delicate to be strong. He still thinks it, even as he knows that should it come to a life or death battle, he will pull his attacks first. It's a little depressing to realize, but Naruto isn't ever one to mope about something. Besides, why would Sasuke ever fight to kill him?

Sakura has always known, ever since Haku nearly killed Sasuke, that given the choice between Naruto and her, Sasuke would choose the other boy. It made sense, really. Naruto was stronger, tougher, and clearly meant the world to Sasuke. She wonders; even if she grew stronger, would Sasuke see her as anything more than useless?

Kakashi has always been disturbed by the similarities between his taciturn student and himself. He knows that no matter how dedicated Naruto is, Sasuke won't listen until it is far too late. Kakashi made that mistake himself, and he knows that Sasuke is far more messed up than the Copy-nin ever was; after all, Kakashi had his sensei to look after him, but he knows that he isn't doing as good of a job with his own students, no matter how hard he tries. And so Kakashi waits, and hopes, but if the best case scenario involves only one death instead of four, instead of hundreds, there isn't much to hope for. Kakashi has never been an optimist.

Sasuke goes home alone each night. He thinks that Naruto is stupid and slow, but maybe he's determined enough to be considered a brother. He thinks that Sakura is shallow and confusing, but maybe she's kind enough to be considered a sister. He thinks that Kakashi is just plain weird, but if the genius ninja was any kinder, he'd probably have to call him a father. And then Sasuke thinks of little mini-Kakashis, and blanches even paler than his usual snowy complexion.

Oh dear god, no.

Still, they are his team, but Sasuke can't help but wondering. Wondering why sometimes he catches Naruto looking at him, scared of what the future holds. Wondering why sometimes he sees Sakura watching Naruto with nothing but anger and hate in her eyes. Wondering why lately, every time Kakashi sees his team, the older man sighs and his eye loses just a little bit of its sparkle.


	3. Sakura Apprentice

Disclaimer: Even if Kishimoto had enough time to read my stories, chances are he'd probably just laugh…Clearly I don't own, although it's a wonderful dream….

Warnings: Nothing, I think. Maybe Strong!Sakura—Kishimoto doesn't seem to love her as much as she deserves.

The ink stains her hands pink, the red ink spread and dissolved by sweat and water. She is scribe and student to the Godaime, and her work shows in her hands. The boxes she lifts and the people she heals have become routine to her, as have the endless hours of reading—medical texts to clan histories—and notating. The Godaime doesn't want another case like Lee's, doesn't want days to go by before she can help someone again. Next time, they might not have that kind of time. So she doesn't complain much about the reading and she doesn't complain at all about the healing and lifting, because the hospital can always use another set of hands and this is what she'd wanted, being a medic

The calluses turn her palms grey, her work roughening the skin and breaking it, patches of red blooming through the grey. Her skin turns a patchy purple, bruises and healed scars given equally by her powerful teacher, but Sakura has learned not to care anymore because the power bequeathed to her is enough to make up for any lack of dainty femininity during these times. And now she's strong enough that she won't need to call on her boys and her friends every time she faces a challenge. Now, her inner self has a chance to become her outer self, and she loves every minute of it, loves feeling strong and powerful and fierce, and it reminds her why exactly she'd wanted to be a medic-_nin_.

So when she meets him again she is pleased to see he has grown too. She's already admitted, albeit ruefully, that he'll probably be stronger than she is no matter what she does, but with her finesse at manipulation and control her chakra is a weapon far more dangerous than his own, no matter what new techniques he's learned. They spend the rest of the afternoon catching up with each other, exchanging pleasantries and small talk about their mutual friends. He laughs when she accidentally starts lecturing him on infection because _splinters shouldn't be ignored, Naruto, they can actually cause several other, more serious problems_, and he tells her that she's gotten even smarter in the last two years and she glows with pride. The next day, when they fight Kakashi, and she makes the ground shatter and the trees quake, it's no small amount of pleasure she gets from the look of shock and fear on his face—on both of their faces— and she grins because now, finally, she feels _right_.


	4. Sakura Konohamaru's New Jutsu

Disclaimer: Kishimoto is a genius and a god and I'm…not. Why would anyone think I owned Naruto?

Warnings: Mild language, imagined yaoi, Pervert!Sakura, mild time-skip spoilers. **DON'T READ** if yaoi squicks you…You have been warned.

Sakura was fairly proud of herself; after all, she'd managed _not_ to blush furiously every time she glanced at Sai after Konohamaru unveiled that—that foul, perverted jutsu.

Just because Sai and Sasuke happened to be two very attractive people did not mean that the little brat could use their forms in his sick transformations!

And if anyone there said she had been practically drooling at the sight…Well, she'd deny it. She _hadn't_ been. Really.

Sakura went home eagerly, ready to get away from Sai's smirking, Kakashi's twinkling eye, and Naruto's gagging noises every time he caught her watching Sai's ass.

She didn't actually think a guy could have an ass that nice, but now that she'd actually looked…_Well_.

It wasn't her fault that she was stuck on a team filled with hot men, it wasn't!

And Sakura blamed Naruto's corrupting influence when she woke up the next morning shaking. Damn, that was hot, but it was so…so _wrong_.

And when Naruto laughed and asked her _why she was still blushing, and was she turning into a perverted old geezer like Kakashi-sensei?_ Sakura punched him through two trees and a chain-link fence.

She didn't want him to see the blush on her face redden as she looked at him now, all broad shoulders and tanned abs. Because if Sai and Sasuke were hot as hell together…Naruto and Sasuke had just become her new favorite fantasy.

God, she was turning into another Jiraiya. Sakura figured she really was twisted when she realized that she didn't mind so much.

As long as she had that dream again.


	5. Neji List

Disclaimer: I want Naruto for my birthday. Unfortunately, I got socks for my birthday last year, so it's unlikely I'll be getting Naruto this time around. AKA unless you want a pair of gray socks, don't sue me.

Warnings: Neji cynicism…So what else is new? Mild spoilers for the events leading up to time-skip.

I think that I scare people. With the name, and with the eyes. And with the talent. You could call me arrogant, or you could just call me accurate. Besides, it's actually kind of useful, the fear. The ones who are actually worth fighting are the ones who aren't afraid to challenge the name and the eyes and the talent. I count very few among those ranks, but for the most part, those are the people I respect most.

People like Naruto, who made me realize that I don't have to accept my own destiny. My birthright doesn't make me who I am any more than the Byakugan does, and it was a lesson I needed to learn. You'd be surprised, actually, at who else is on that list. Lee. Hinata. They know, every time they fight me, that they won't win. Chances are, they never will. But they come back, they stand up, because they need to show me that being a genius doesn't make you perfect. Every time they connect, every time they hit the dirt hard and still get back up, they show me.

Sasuke?

Hah. No, Sasuke isn't on my list. He's smart enough, and he's strong enough, true. But as a genius himself, Sasuke needs to stop hiding from those who are willing to challenge him. Ever since Naruto refused to kill him…Yes, I know that the official story is that when Sasuke left Naruto lost their last battle.

Bullshit. Naruto held back on his last Rasengan. That's why the Chidori overpowered it, that's why Sasuke left. Because Naruto wasn't willing to kill a brother. Only a few people know this, Sasuke included. And that hurt his jumped-up last-Uchiha pride. That a no-name, dead-last moron with enough heart to make it to Hokage pulled his punches when fighting a technical genius. It will take him a while, but I'm sure Sasuke will figure it out eventually. I needed to lose to a moron, Sasuke needed to win against a monster.

Because now Sasuke has to wonder why Naruto stopped. Why he didn't try. And sooner or later, Sasuke is going to realize exactly why Naruto didn't kill him. And then…_only_ then, mind, will Sasuke make it onto my list of people worth fighting. Maybe then he'll realize it's an honor for an Uchiha to share space with Lee, Hinata, and Naruto. And maybe then, he'll come home.


	6. Sakura Monster

Disclaimer:…Do you honestly think I'd say I own Naruto?

Warnings: Humane!Kyuubi and bad puns.

They say he wears his heart on his sleeve, but Sakura thinks that there's something wrong with that expression. Naruto's heart is not that easily won. He gives affection freely, but affection is different than love, and it is not the same.

On the other hand, Naruto's emotion shows itself in every wrinkle on his face, on every curled finger on his hands. When Naruto gets upset enough to cry, he doesn't tear up silently. No, Naruto snuffles and winces and turns red and his tears are large and snotty in nature. When Naruto gets happy enough to laugh, he doesn't chuckle gently. Naruto laughs obnoxiously, irritatingly smug and occasionally terrifyingly devious. But when Naruto laughs, it's a good bet that he's got something to be happy about. And when Naruto gets angry, he yells.

Loudly.

Sakura is sure she's never met anyone who could yell quite as loud as Naruto, and privately, she's glad. The yelling is actually good, a signal that it's still Naruto in control and that a centuries old monster isn't about to be released to wreak havoc on the world. When Naruto goes still and silent, it's then that Sakura takes her cue to run for it.

She doesn't know Kyuubi, has never met the fox demon outside of a battle situation, and even then, it's not like he's coherent. She's heard from his host, though, that he is actually quite intelligent, if a bit bloodthirsty, and Sakura wonders if it says something odd about her when she realizes that she'd like to meet him. The knowledge he could—and must—hold is enough to overcome her terror.

It is many years later when Sakura finally does meet Kyuubi, and somehow he is both everything and nothing she ever hoped for and feared. He is surprisingly calm when his host's life isn't being threatened, and his anger at being contained has slowly dissipated into a great sadness. Naruto has told her that the seal on his stomach binds the fox to him forever, that it is a life-bond, created by the sacrifice of the Fourth.

She didn't really think about it then, but now that she's talking to him, she realizes that it means he will die when Naruto does, and for a demon who's used to being closer to divinity than any other creature on the planet, that's a terrifying thought. It doesn't change his arrogance, or his scorn for humankind in general, but Sakura is startled by the softness in his mountain-shaking rumble when he speaks of his jailer, his killer. There are many reason she can think of for this—Naruto is irrepressible, and perhaps it is grudging admiration for him that shows itself as kindness. Kyuubi laughs in her face when she suggests it.

It is nothing like having a true child, kin through blood, but it's the closest he's ever going to get at this rate. Horror flashes through Sakura's mind, because how could the monster ever think of sweet, clumsy Naruto as a son? But then she thinks about it, and it starts making sense. Naruto is blunt, forthright, and there isn't anything he prizes more over loyalty to his friends. It is intriguingly different than the lone terror that threatened several countries, and Kyuubi admits that. More than that though is that Naruto doesn't see Kyuubi as a monster, or as a handy source of power and invincibility to be exploited. Naruto sees his tenant as a sentient being, wildly powerful but still a creature with feelings and with thoughts—more complex than the boy's own more often than not.

It doesn't really matter, Sakura supposes, and instead of being glad when the mock-interview is over, she bows, deep and solemn, to the giant fox trapped in a human's body. Kyuubi studies her for a moment, then inclines his head, a sovereign's acknowledgement of his subject. A flicker, and then Naruto's back, and he's looking more serious than she's ever seen him. Naruto wraps his arms around her, and Sakura sniffles.

She'll talk with Naruto for hours, and then she'll go home, and write down a story. The story of a god. The story of a demon. The story of a creature with a sadistic streak and an odd sense of humor, a sense of justice and a blood lust that has lasted centuries. She's planning on calling it Tales of the Fox. Naruto is the first one to laugh at the pun.


	7. Team 7 Time

Disclaimer: Okay, this is just ridiculously boring. I don't own, I wish I did, but I DON'T. Sue me and die, fool of a lawyer.

Warnings: Angst, post-time skip spoilers, AU now that the post-time skip stuff has come out.

It's funny how different people think they're running out of time.

Sasuke sees time slipping through his fingers, time to grow and learn and maybe just lose his body and mind to a creepy snake-pervert, but really all that matters is if Itachi dies at the end of the year and then Orochimaru can _have_ his body and _I don't care, I don't feel, I am an avenger and they got in my way and so I left them behind_ maybe, just maybe, he is afraid of running out time because Itachi will be dead and then Orochimaru _will_ take his body and Naruto and Sakura and Kakashi won't have come for him.

Naruto sees time in a completely smaller scale, and yet a much larger one. Naruto the person has learned how precious each day is, and if he hasn't accomplished something, whether it's saving the world or getting seven bowls or ramen for the price of five, then he counts the day as a failure. Naruto is afraid of failure. Failure defined his life once before and he fears the day it rules his life again. But Naruto is also afraid of time because he while he _knows_ they'll get Sasuke back, and still in control of his own body, he also knows that Kyuubi will force him to live two centuries at least. No other human, even with advanced medical ninjutsu, can live that long. And so Naruto fears the day he'll have to sit by the beds of his friends, his family, and watch them die, old and weak and frail, while he'll still look as young as the Yondaime did.

Sakura fears time not for herself, but for her boys. She fears time because she's afraid Orochimaru will get to Sasuke before they can. She fears time because she's afraid Naruto will go permanently mad with the endlessly long future looming ahead of him. She fears time because she wants all of her boys to find happiness, even Kakashi, and she knows even if he doesn't that true happiness isn't found within the pages of Icha Icha Paradise (however much her sensei will try).

Kakashi…Kakashi is more selfish than Sakura, but he has had longer to live and therefore less left. He doesn't fear age, because he knows he'll die before his bones will wear down from constant stress. He doesn't fear death, because he's sure that when it comes it will be welcome. Kakashi fears love. He found it once, and because he was young and stupid and assumed he had his entire life left in front of him, he scorned that chance. The poor dumb scarecrow spurned the innocent young love, and the love would cherish that cruel friendship enough that he'd die for it. Kakashi hasn't found love since, and he's afraid that when he dies, he'll still be unable to remember someone saying the dangerous three words.

As unlikely as it sounds, Kyuubi fears time as well. No one ever asked the demonic unofficial member of Team 7 whether he'd want to live out centuries of life in a human host, and as it turns out, he can't. Yes, he can prolong Naruto's life far beyond his expected lifespan, but he was the most powerful demon in the entire world, and he would have lived for _thousands_ more years, damnit! Kyuubi's not angry really. Not even sad. Just a bit scared, for all the centuries he'll miss. And maybe, just a bit, when he's feeling brutally honest with himself, Kyuubi fears death more than anything.


	8. Neji Snow

Disclaimer: Jeez, this is getting old…I don't own, will never own, and only lust after Naruto. Joy.

Warnings: Mild angst….Wave Country spoilers…Misuse of Japanese food names.

Snowbound.

Dear gods.

Not snowbound.

Strike me with lightning, swamp me in a tsunami, anything. Just not snowbound.

Not now.

I suppose, since we are stuck no matter what…Might as well pass the time.

It's the day he died, see.

Of course, I never actually met him, but it doesn't matter. I felt like we were kindred spirits in more ways than one.

He'd been betrayed by his family.

He felt like his duty kept him in a world that only caused him pain.

He died serving that duty, but at least he died thinking he'd saved the life of the only person he still loved.

He was wrong, but once again, it doesn't matter.

Plus he had long black hair and reportedly feminine features. And I swear, I'm not alluding to anything.

So I've been marking the anniversary of his death ever since Naruto told me. Because of the whole kindred spirits thing.

But one of the details that I found vaguely morbid, just a little wonderful, and altogether _strange_ was the way it snowed when his love died beside him. A boy as pure as the snow, Kakashi-san had said. Of course, I'd passed it off as Naruto exaggerating again, but hey, you never know, right? Because occasionally Naruto does tell the truth. Occasionally.

Still, if it just so happens that you were traveling in the country where this boy came from, and it just so happens that it's the day of this boy's death, and yet again, it _just so happens_ that it's snowing like mad outside, so that you're stuck inside a tiny little shack with nothing but a stack of frozen dango, then it crosses the border from exaggeration to…Well, to creepy, actually. And somehow, I wouldn't be surprised if dango just so happened to be his favorite food, too.

And who am I even talking to? You don't exist. You're a little scrap of paper I found wedged in between two dango. And yet here I am, pouring out what very well could be my life's story if I don't shut the hell up right now and go to sleep.

Because I'm feeling dramatic, and because you just can't end a monologue (if this qualifies as a monologue) with goodnight, I'll sign off with this.

If I make it out of here tomorrow because the snow has miraculously cleared up, I'll leave this piece of paper back where I found it, in between two dango, instead of destroying it.

And then some poor sap who gets stuck in this shack just like I was will eat the dango, and read this message, and maybe if he's even more of a sap than I am, he'll start crying.

Oh damn. Just so you, the paper, and you, my reader, know for sure, that wasn'ta tear. It _wasn't_.

I need to sleep now, before I delude myself into thinking that I see the boy smiling at me through the frosted windows.

Hello, Haku.


End file.
